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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Pingkol in Ifugao farming
  • Date: Fri, 08 Oct 2010 16:10:16 -0400

On 10/7/2010 9:33 PM, Lawrence London wrote:
http://nikeprogramme.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=111%3Apingkol-dilemma&catid=82%3Anike-team-researches&Itemid=99
*ENDANGERED MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN IFUGAO TRADITIONAL RICE PRODUCTION: The
Pingkol Dilemma*
by Armand N. Camhol

Of the often overlooked parts or aspects of the Ifugao Rice Terraces (IRT)
is the pingkol (Lit. “rounded”). These are mounds of decaying plant material
primarily rice stalks, ricefield waternymph (*Najas graminea) or “bagiw” *in
the Ifugao Tuwali language, flating fern (*Azolla pinnata) *or *“halibubu”,
*water hyacinths, duckweed and other leafy succulent plants which are made
by farmers during the rice cycle’s fallow season and planted with an
assortment of vegetables like pechay, cabbage, spring onions, garlic,
legumes and others.

Anyone interested in discussing this? This is at the heart of permaculture as I see it. Stacked functions, recycling, nutrient and
water resources use.

<>
pingkol (Lit. “rounded”). These are mounds of decaying plant material
primarily rice stalks, ricefield waternymph (*Najas graminea) or “bagiw” *in the Ifugao Tuwali language, floating fern (*Azolla pinnata) *or *“halibubu”, *water hyacinths, duckweed and other leafy succulent plants which are made by farmers during the rice cycle’s fallow season and planted with an assortment of vegetables like pechay, cabbage, spring onions, garlic, legumes and others.

This sounds like island gardens, chinampas, hydroponics, aquaponics or aquatic Huegelkulture (see the picture of these mini-gardens planted on mounded decaying plant material. The duckweed recycles nutrients and purifies the water, azolla fixes atmospheric nitrogen, water hyacinth purifies water, absorbs nutrients and produces much biomass, all combined with rice stalks to produce a dense bed of nutrient-rich compost to grow vegetables in.

This ought to be a method that could be used in the US and elsewhere.
Those intent on intensely integrated permaculture systems could use
this form of gardening in wetlands, swales, shallow areas in ponds,
in ditches and in dammed terraces on slopes. This seems to have a lot of potential. In conventional watershed, wetland and pond systems aquatic plants could be harvested to make garden grow mounds in the shallows of ponds or wetland where there is plenty of light. Benefit: never a drought.

Ideas:

Aquatic Huegelkulture
Permanent double dug biointensive notill raised beds




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